Corpse Groom
by AngelPines
Summary: You know the story: awkward young man marries a corpse by mistake. It's a lovely tale to try out in a play. And with the skills I have on the piano, playing Victor was a given. So then... anyone care to explain to me why I've suddenly found myself married to a skeleton buried out in the forest? Because last time I checked, I wasn't supposed to really bring back a dead person!
1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer: I have no clue why this happened. This random idea popped into my head late one night, and it stuck with me. It's so silly, but I felt like there might be a couple of laughs out of it.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

Drama club was, in simple words, a weird and loud mess filled with crazy costumes.

You get those kids who feel like they're those people from High School Musical; that they're better than you and have the voice of an angel. __Ironically, that's sometimes true.__ There's the techies who dealt with lighting and sound, the costume-makers, and the people who loved to be in the spotlight. There's also the general area for people who just liked to put on plays.

Then there's me. Me, who only did it for the music. I didn't sing. Far from it, as I had the worst voice ever. When it came to saying lines, I sounded like a broken record. However, I loved instruments. I was brilliant with a piano, and that's how my friend managed to convince the club leader into signing me up.

Under the heat of the spotlights of the stage in the gym, under the intense eyes of several curious group members wanting to watch me rehearse my cues, I began to read from my papers loudly. "With this hand, I will drown your sorrows-n-no, that's not right." Shuffling the papers, I glanced back at my partner. "What was it again?"

"It's lift your sorrows," she giggled, holding a hand to her mouth. "Though, I suppose drowning could be suitable too." Drama was a peculiar talent of mine, but it's not like I disliked it with a passion. However, this time was a little... different. Our club was putting on Corpse Bride; the stop-motion film by Tim Burton. Though, with a few slight changes. __Such as... me.__

I was Victor van Dort.

Sure, I supposed having a female lead wasn't that big of a swap, but I was actually playing him as a male character. My voice didn't match it, but my piano skills were enough to win over 'el presidente'. After all, one of the highlights of the play was Emily and his duet where they make up, and how he and Victoria first met in her manor. All of them involved a piano. Just had to wear a short black wig and a suit, and I was ready to go. __That, and she had the guts to say that since I had nothing in the front, I could easily pass off as a guy already.__

 _ _Now, if only I can nail my lines. It's the wedding practice in real life, honestly.__ Life just sucked, majorly. "O-okay, Claire. I think I got it this time." I cleared my throat and started from the top. Did Victor really have this much trouble remembering lines too? Because I could clearly relate to his nervousness. "With this... hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle," I held up the white candlestick, showing it to her. "I will light your mother on fi-dang it!" _Wrong moment! Wrong moment of the movie!_

Claire's giggles turned into outright laughter, and a few of the practicing drama geeks who could hear my lines chuckled as well. "Well, ha ha, that wasn't entirely wrong!" I slapped a hand to my forehead, groaning. "Lighten up, Jazzy. It's not like you're that far off from the full thing."

"Excuse me for wanting to actually do well at my role," I rolled my eyes. I lifted the papers up, and smacked them on the top of her strawberry blonde head, earning a small shout. "And it's Jazz, you goof. Besides, you have it easy. You're one of the undead chefs. You're not gonna have everyone breathing down your neck to be perfect."

"And I'm perfectly fine with that. Now then. Don't you have some sort of thing you said you had to get done today?" She rubbed her head, pouting.

"Yes, and this 'thing' is called studying. Some of us are also dedicated to the rest of their schooling, and not looking fine in a costume and makeup. You ought to try it sometime." I ignored the small mumble of letdown from Claire and hopped off the stage. I saw some of the other students mutter disappointingly at my sudden choice to leave, but I shrugged them off. I was here to practice, not to make a fool of myself. Snatching my brown messenger bag off the seat, I slung it onto my shoulder and spun around to face her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Walking through the almost empty halls as my fellow classmates left their respective clubs and late classes, I glanced at my reflection in the glass of the trophy cabinet. My platinum blonde hair stood out against my pale skin and blue eyes. A pair of black leggings was snugly worn under a dark purple sweater dress with a black belt around my waist. __Perfect for autumn weather.__ I didn't look the part of the character at all, save for my skin color. Then again, most of the cast were being painted blue and purple to mimic their deceased look. A sea of orange, red, and yellow greeted me as I stepped out into the chilly air, and I began to head down to the sidewalk. Having to live near such a close location to her school helped with club activities. It was easy to traverse from one place to another without fear of parking. __Plus, there's always that one smart aleck who liked parking in my designated spot for three months until I finally gave up.__

 _ _Ugh. Come on, Jazz,__ I muttered internally, kicking a small growing pile of leaves at my feet. The canopy overhead blocked out the sunlight, letting bits of the warmth stream down through gaps. __Lines are easy. If you can remember chemistry formulas, you can remember this.__ She even saw the movie! Why was it so hard to nail i-character. "That's it!" I slammed to a halt, almost letting a distracted student run into me before he grumbling passed around me, casting a dirty look over his shoulder.

Character. I wasn't getting into the mood. Perhaps I just had to feel it more, somehow. Sort of like... method acting. I didn't want to take this seriously, but wouldn't it be grand to show up those snobs the next day at rehearsal and give them the practice of a lifetime. __Now... to find a good place to set the mood.__ Looking around me for a split second, I darted off the pavement and into the woods beside the road. "Just get into the mood, and this shouldn't be a problem." I don't head off into the woods that often. In fact, not many students ever did. They usually stuck to the sidewalks to smoke and chat. Practicing out there off the road and away from prying eyes was perfect. __I mean, I could do it at home, but it's a little weird to repeat my lines when my family can hear me.__ I liked my privacy, and I was gonna get it. The towering trees stretched to the sky, and the ground rose and dipped. A fall breeze blew through the area, and I shivered involuntarily.

"Alright, you got this." Dropping the bag by a fallen tree, I pulled out my script again. "Let's try this one more time." __Hmm... how accurate do I wanna make this? Normally, method actors went all out, right?__ I knelt back down to the damp ground, and shuffled through my bag again before finding a plastic wrapped candy leftover from lunch. "I... imagine this would do the trick." Ring Pop, cherry flavor. __Perfect. And... sweet!__ I ripped off the wrapper, tossing it into my book bag and sliding it onto my hand for safe keeping. "I'll eat you later."

Standing up and scanning the lines several times, I let them drop into a pile at my feet. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. I will cup your-whoa, Jazz. That's way too off." __Can't even believe that was hinted at in the movie.__ I had this. I did. Just... I had to focus. No one was around, just the birds up in the trees. So then, what was there to worry over? "Deep breaths, and... with this hand... I will lift your sorrows."

I gulped anxiously as I continued, but the rapid beating of my overworked heart was slowly and surely steadying. "Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine." The words were slightly hesitated, yet spoken clearly. Examining the sweet on my hand, I walked away from my gear, further into the woods as I felt myself dive deeper into the role. __Better. Now don't lose this momentum. Let it carry you.__ "With this candle," I broke off a small branch, and knelt down to pretend to light another twig a few feet off the ground on a small hill. "I will light your way in darkness." There was still the part where Victor went overboard and began pretending to chat with Victoria's parents, but that wasn't as big of a deal at the moment.

 _ _And now... the final touch.__ "With this ring... I ask you to be mine." I slid the Ring Pop off my hand, and let it slide onto a branch beside it. Its gnarled smaller branches curled to mimic a hand, making me feel even more like the character. __Brilliant. Absolutely perfect.__ "Brr, is it ever cool." A gust of wind swept through me, and I hugged myself as I looked up towards the sky. Definitely should have brought at least a wind breaker with me to school. Odd though. All of the birds just... stopped chirping. __Why do I feel like... I did something wrong?__

"Hmm-? AaAHHH!?" I screamed as something snatched out around my wrist, and yanked me against the hill under me. My face smashed into the wet dirt, while whatever was holding me fought to keep me there. My arm was now deep into the earth, right up to my shoulder as the thing kept tugging roughly, wanting to bring my even closer and possibly straight through the ground itself. __Wha-what's going on!? What's holding me!?__ Finally, with a strong pull and planting my feet awkwardly underneath me, I brought myself upwards, and whatever was holding me came with. Stumbling back several feet away from the hole, I looked at my arm... and promptly started screaming again. "Arm! Dead arm!" __No skin at all-freakin' dead person!__ "Get it off!" Grabbing where the elbow should have been on t-the bony human arm, I ripped it off and let it fly far behind me, not caring where it went.

A soft rumbling came from where the arm came from, and I stepped backwards. __Th-this isn't real, Jazz. You're just imagining things! Wake up, wake up, wake UP!__ The ground from the hole began to crack open, letting dirt and rock fall in as another arm clawed at the ground, using it to hoist the thing up. Dirt tumbled from the top of its head as it rose up from the hole-no. Not a hole. A g-grave. __I-I put a candy ring on a corpse.__ Branches snapped at its clothing as it rose up, illuminated from the setting sun behind it. Holes were ripped at their clothing, showing thick rib bones underneath the filthy white shirt it was wearing. The corpse's basketball shorts, revealing its skeletal legs, held frayed edges with loose strings dangling down. Its arms were much of the same state, all bone, but I could only see part of it from the holes in the dark blue hoodie it wore.

The hood was kept up over its face, head lowered until it finally reached the surface, certain that it wasn't going to fall back into the hole it just crawled out of. "... i do." __Wh-wait, what!? What do you mean, I do!? I do, what!?__ A hand, n-no muscle at all, no skin, raised itself to its face and pulled back the edge of the hood, just enough for me to see its face. Large black sockets, and a mouth that was no way human. It still had its teeth, but it seemed... fused. Melted together to form a permanent smile. "hmm?" It held its hand up its face after lowering it, examining the candy jewelry before its sockets moved to my petrified eyes. Small, white glowing dots floated in the empty gaps where eyeballs should have been, shining brightly in the darkness. "whoops. hehe, didn't really think those words through at first when i woke up. gotta say, didn't really expect the question to be popped to me. but, i've never really been all that picky. hope i didn't rattle your bones too much." It winked. W-winked. __I-it just-skeletons don't even have eyelids!__

My eyes boggled at the undead creature, barely registering its deep, baritone words. __Mo-monster! Undea-zombie mo-! Mon... mo... oh.__ My head rolled to the side as I collapsed in a heap, legs buckling under my dead weight. My head was buzzing from how fast my heart was beating now, and it was clear that I was close to fully fainting.

Worn, faded slippers, oddly pink in color moved towards me, the leaves crunching under its weight. The monster loomed over me, its bone where the eyebrows should have been moving to make a concerned look. This... this wasn't human at all. __Wh... what is this thing?__ "heh. way to make a first impression on your groom. oh well." It walked away for a moment before returning just as quickly. I could hear an odd snapping sound as the skeleton reattached its severed arm to its socket, twisting and bending the bones to see if it was secure. My eyes finally fell shut as something warm slid under the bend of my legs and around my shoulders, lifting me off the ground. __N... no. L-let me... go.__ "c'mon, now. oh man, paps is goin' flip when he hears 'bout this." __... help...__

* * *

 ** **This was just a random sleepy idea that I came up with. Not to be taken seriously one bit. Figured it'd be worth posting to see what would happen. Frankly, I would be willing to make another chapter for kicks and giggles, but as of right now, this is it. This thing's too funny for me, for some weird reason.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	2. Chapter 2

****Disclaimer: Curses! I didn't expect people to want to see me continue this thing, but it appears... that I have to make another chapter!****

 ** **That One Cute Kitty: I don't plan on making this a full story. If need be, I'll write at least one or two more chapters. But that's it!****

 ** **StoriesUnleashed: Thanks!****

 ** **SolangeloUniverse: Thanks. Judging from the reviews, I will write a little more, but nothing too huge.****

 ** **sashaxh: Thank you!****

 ** **PersonYoullNEVERmeetIRL: Thanks! Not sure why, but this idea just seemed too funny not to write up.****

 ** **Hourglass Cipher: Go ahead! Personally, I think it'd be hilarious to have art to go along with us.****

 ** **13ForLife: Well, I can see several similarities, and I've been figuring out the backstory to it as I wrote the first chapter. You'll like what I have planned, that's for sure.****

 ** **Silversun XD: Normal. No one is dead. What the backstory of this is... you'll just have to wait and see.****

 ** **ultima-owner: I know. That's why I posted it. Kicks and giggles!****

 ** **Sixer: It was a late night, random idea. I had zero thinking thrown into this, and now there's a small amount of people wanting to see more. So... here's more!****

 ** **RainbowCelin: Interesting, or is it just really hilarious?****

 ** **mailing60: Thanks!****

 ** **Midna the Pokemon: I don't mind writing more at all. I'm just shocked people liked this.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

 _ _U... ugh... m-my head... what happened?__ Everything was muffled, and at the same time, pounding. Like... someone was playing multiple base drums behind closed doors. Amidst the throbbing in my head, I could make out multiple voices. Slowly, they became clear enough to distinguish their words.

"... I c-can't believe you brought a human back here..."

"... you're that concerned with that...? I'm more focused on how... got to the surface. The... still standing!"

"... WHY ARE YOU BOTHERED, U...? THIS IS INCREDIBLE! M... FOUND A...!"

 _ _Ouch.__ Why was that guy screaming? Or... was it just my head that made him sound loud? __Time... to wake up.__ Scrunching up my face, I forced my eyelids to open. My vision was blurry, and all I could see were bright ceiling lights on a white ceiling, and several colorful shapes surrounding me. __Am... I on a table?__ "E... eugh..."

The voices immediately stopped, and the blobs all turned in my direction. As the world began to refocus and stop spinning so much, the three figures got sharper, until I finally could make out what they were.

I really, really wish I couldn't.

"Aahhh!" With a startled cry, I rolled onto my side, and off of whatever I was laying on. To my shock and horror, it was an examination table. __Wh-why!? Why that of all things!? Oh, how about because I was being held capture by three monsters!__ A towering corpse, just like the o-one from before towered over the other creatures. Its sockets were devoid of light like the one that caused me to pass out, but seemed to express emotions quite clearly. It was wearing a white shirt that seemed to resemble a Star Trek ripoff, with a red torn scarf as a cape, red boots and gloves with golden cuffs, and blue briefs. Its outfit greatly revealed its bony arms, legs, and sp-spine...

The other monsters, I-I didn't think I could even say undead. They were clearly monsters. The first was wearing a black tank top which showed off very well-toned arms, jeans and red combat boots, and their flaming red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. They had fins on the side of their head where their ears would've been, the edges just as red as their hair. I could barely make out the gills on their neck, but what caught my attention was their face. Sharp, piranha-like teeth that could rip you to shreds, with an eye patch going over their left eye bearing a symbol I couldn't make out. The free eye, the one that was staring me down, was bright yellow with a slit black pupil that was focused solely on me.

The other one was much shorter, but probably stood an inch or two to my height. Three spikes stuck out from behind their head, and a set of glasses were perched on their snout. Judging from the scaly complexion, it sort of reminded me like a lizard or dinosaur. They were wearing a lab coat buttoned up to the neck, enough to hide the shirt underneath, light brown pants, and a long tail dragged on the floor behind them.

All in all, I was scared out of my wits.

"DR. ALPHYS," the tall skeleton spoke. S-so it wasn't just my head hurting. It really did talk that loud. "WHY IS THE HUMAN SCREAMING?"

Why did it think I wouldn't be screaming? I didn't know where I was and I was surrounded by dangerous creatures! "I-I think we startled them," the lizard replied. "S-Sans, are you a-almost done?"

"i'm comin'." __Oh no.__ The same deep, reverberating voice that I heard before I passed out responded from... from... behind me?

I slightly turned my head around, and froze. T-the same sk-skeleton from before stood right there, grinning at me with that fused smile. Its outfit wasn't as torn as it was before, appearing to have been patched up or replaced. "...heya."

"AHH!" With a shriek, I jumped several feet away, and at least a foot into the air. The monster's grin seemed to stretch, almost in amusement. __I-I got to get out of here!__ Eyes darting around rapidly, I locked onto the door behind the trio of new monsters. __Move!__ As fast as my recently awoken legs could move, I sprinted past the creatures. The fish monster gave an angry shout, but before it could act I had already zoomed through the door. Out of all of them, they seemed to be the biggest threat. Getting away from it was more important than the skeleton in my mind, even if the skeleton was the one to drag me there.

Intense, broiling heat greeted me on the outside, stopping me in my tracks for a moment to register the sight. "Lava!?" I squeaked, seeing the molten rock shift past far below the cliff I was on. A narrow bridge was off in the distance in front of me, leading further into wherever I was kidnapped to. I didn't care where it was I was going. I just had to get away from there. Sweat had already begun to creep on me from the temperature, and my previous idea of not wearing a jacket and just a sweater dress suddenly had begun to make me look stupid.

Then again, I was the one who somehow brought a corpse to life! "Idiot!" I shouted as the bridge swayed gently under my feet as I dashed to the other side. "Jazz, you're a freaking idiot!" The large hole in the cavern soon vanished behind me as I continued running, not looking back. I didn't hear anyone speaking, or shouting for me to stop or come back. I didn't hear footsteps. That was good. That meant I wasn't being followed.

The air around me seemed to turn heavy in humidity, and soon I could hear the sound of running water. The cave ceiling and the walls around me sparkled in crystals that gave it enough light to look around, and there were dozens of glowing blue plants around me. __Where is this place? Am... am I dead?__ N-no. I couldn't possibly have died. If I did, then I definitely wouldn't be feeling like my heart was about to burst out of my chest. Spotting a small crack in the wall, I skid to a halt and squirmed my way inside. The bend it made wouldn't allow anyone to see me unless they looked really hard. Backing against the slightly damp and cold rock, I sank to the floor with a shaky sigh. I was... safe in here. N-no one was going to find me. _I'm safe. I am... safe._

"hehe. well, gotta hand it to ya, you sure know how to pick a hiding spot."

Body tensing, I spotted the pink slippers just out of the corner of my hole. __H-how did he already find me?__ The feet moved until it stood right in front of the cavern until I could clearly see its leg bones. Shifting, I moved myself as far back as I could. I didn't see the skeleton getting into the hole anytime soon, but that didn't mean I wasn't be careful. "c'mon, kid. i'm not gonna bite." When it seemed that it wasn't gaining any reaction, the monster inched to the side of the wall and rapped its knuckles on it. __What is it doing?__ "ahem. knock knock."

 _ _Uh... what?__ "... huh?" I finally uttered something, but it was mostly vocalizing my confusion. The monster chuckled, and repeated the action.

"knock knock." Was it doing a joke? I wasn't sure, but it appeared I had no choice but to go along with the idea.

"Um... w-who's there?" The skeleton hummed, satisfied I was playing along.

"howard."

"... howard who?"

"i'm doin' quite fine, thanks for askin'. the real question though, is howard you?" A soft laugh left me, partially amused at the cleverness of the joke, and annoyed that it was concerned for me. The person it kidnapped.

"I... I don't know. I'm scared, and... lost. Confused, an-and angry." Warily, I made my way back to the hole, and stuck my head out. The skeleton looked down at me, and I flinched. "Wh... who are you? Wh-what's going on? Where am I?"

The skeleton sighed, and reached up to scratch the back of its head. I grimaced at the sound of bone on bone, making an eerie scratching sound. "that's, uh, a long story. might as well get your name first, before you get to know your husband, right?"

Oh... that. I-I really did that, huh? I-I actually married a corpse-no. It wasn't a corpse at all. It-he... he was a monster. An actual monster. "... might I have yours first?"

"alright." He bent down to the ground, and sat on the floor. Despite me still being inside the gap, he seemed to not mind my cautiousness. As if he was used to someone being cautious and on edge around him. "i'm sans. sans the skeleton." At this point, now that I had a name, I was more leaning towards the idea that calling i-Sans-just a skeleton might be offensive. I didn't want to anger my captor.

"It's... Jazz," I answered reluctantly. I observed his facial structure. How there didn't really seem to be multiple bones constructing his skull. It was all... one thing. No jaw joints visible to my eye, and lines along the sides and top to make up the different sections. He didn't have a mandible, unlike the second skeleton. __Which, now that I'm thinking about it... are they related somehow?__ "So, are you gonna answer my previous questions?"

"sure, if that will make you feel better." Of course, it would. "hard to really give it a good name, but let's just call it the underground." Underground? __Am I... please, don't tell me I'm actually under the ground right now.__ My face paled more than it already was, mimicking a sheet of paper. "c'mon, kid. best if we get you outta there before i explain further." I shook my head, retreating a little into the hole. His grin shrank a little, but he kept a hand outstretched, waiting for me to take it. "relax. i'm not gonna hurt ya. you're safe. besides, isn't that what a good husband is supposed make you feel?"

 _ _Does he have to keep referring to himself like that?__ Biting back a remark, I crawled out and stood up. Sans was... short. Surprisingly. He only came up to my eyes, and considering I was just above average height, that was saying something. Seeing that I wasn't taking his hand, he stuffed it back inside his hoodie's pocket, and began walking ahead of me. "you comin'?" __As if I have a choice?__ I followed behind him, a few steps behind to make me comfortable. I kept glancing down to his other hand that swung casually at his side, the red candy still on his finger. __I... this is really happening. I married a monster... my parents are gonna flip-no, scratch that. Claire is gonna flip. She'll have a field day.__

"I am going to destroy Claire for telling him I played the piano," I grumbled, balling my hands into fists. If the girl had just kept her mouth shut, then I wouldn't have been dragged into the drama club, and this mess wouldn't have happened.

"you say somethin'?" Sans looked back at me, and I snapped my mouth shut. With a rapid head shake, he turned around. "so, where exactly did you find me, anyway? on the surface?"

"O-oh. Just outside of my school's property, off in the woods. I-I swear, I didn't-I mean, I never..." Sans chuckled, giving me a look as he backed his speed up enough to let me walk beside him.

"hehe. it's fine, kid. honestly, i half-expected you to have done this by accident. pretty sure you're a little on the young side to be poppin' the question." A neon flashing sign greeted as along the hallway, welcoming us to... Hotland? __Wow, this place has bad names.__ "y'see, i think you might've made a bit of a grave mistake." __Di-did he just...?__ I slapped a hand to my mouth, groaning at the pun. Sans seemed to enjoy my reaction, and continued explaining. "but seriously, i understand you didn't mean for that to happen. though, i do wanna know what were you doing out there anyway? with this?" He shook his hand with the Ring Pop, brow bones knit in confusion.

"It was for a play our drama club was putting on. I was playing the lead male role. For the play, I had to give my vows after going off in distress from fooling up in the church, which... ironically, I was doing in the auditorium. I don't do lines well, but... since I was the best piano player, the club president had my friend enlist me without me knowing. I went out into the woods by the school to practice. Y'know, like method acting." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "The play was based on the movie Corpse Bride. A movie where the groom... accidentally marries a dead woman by mistake when he's already betrothed to another."

Sans gave me odd look. "that's... ironic."

"No kidding." Exiting the tunnel, I frowned as I faced down the bridge over the sea of lava again. "So, I explained myself. Your turn." Sans nodded, and took the lead going over the bridge.

"well, that's the thing. i, uh, i'm not really sure how i got up there." Sans blinked, lost in thought. "i'm not sure how i got there, stuck in the ground. all i can recall is waking up in the dark, and when i felt something around my hand, i grabbed it. turns out it was your hand. uh... hehe, didn't mean to spook you." His grin seemed more sheepish now. It was certainly interesting. His face was so set, being a skeleton. Yet it could express emotions quite well. The bone was malleable, and could shape itself quite well. __Though... it must hurt having to smile all the time. Having that smile forced on him.__ "frankly, i think it was a botched load on the kid's part. don't think they meant for me to end up there by accident."

"Load?" Sans stepped off the bridge, waiting for me. "And what kid?"

"it'd probably be best if they were around to help explain this too. they should be at the lab by now." The doors of the lab automatically opened, and while I hesitated, I joined Sans in the cool building. __Sweet, sweet air conditioning.__ The three monsters from before were gathered around the table, talking animatedly. In between the fish and the skeleton though, was a newcomer.

Another human.

 _ _Finally!__ They were young, roughly nine or ten in age. Short brown hair that came to their shoulders, and an oversized light blue sweater with two purple stripes. A pair of faded jean shorts and worn brown hiking boots topped their outfit, and unlike me, they seemed completely at ease with the odd company. "got her," Sans spoke. All heads turned to our direction, and the taller skeleton beamed brightly.

"BROTHER! I SEE YOU'VE RETURNED WITH THE OLDER HUMAN!" __So my idea that they were related was right.__ Sans nodded, patting me on the shoulder.

"i just rattled her bones a little, paps. jazz here is just fine." The skeleton, Paps, groaned at the pun, making the other brother smile.

"SANS! DON'T MAKE SUCH TERRIBLE PUNS IN FRONT OF YOUR WIFE! AHEM. GREETINGS, HUMAN. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Something about how energetic and cheerful he was immediately made me think of Claire, and made me laugh. "HUMAN, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?"

"Just... you remind me of someone, that's all. I'm Jazz, o Great Papyrus." I looked behind him at the others, but shied away from the tall monster with the... sharp, sharp teeth. "And, uh..."

The others walked over to me, and the taller monster put their hands on their hips. "Name's Undyne, punk." She bared her teeth when she introduced herself, and Sans found himself being used as a barrier between me and her. It wasn't just her appearance. The woman screamed 'fight me or die a painful death'.

"SHE'S THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD," Papyrus added. Well, that would explain a lot. "AND DOCTOR ALPHYS IS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST. THIS IS HER LAB." The now-named scientist waved nervously, and I finally laid eyes on the child. "AND THIS IS FRISK."

"Heh." I knelt down to look them straight on, and smiled. "Hello, Frisk. I'm Jazz. Y'know, like... jazz hands." I shook my hands freely in front of me, making them silently giggle. "Quiet, aren't you?" They seemed sweet. A little shy, but sweet.

"Frisk here's mute." I looked up to Sans, seeing him finally speak again. He watched our small interaction with interest, amused by my small joke. "alright, kiddo," he spoke to Frisk. "can you come with us for a sec?" __Oh, so this was the kid he meant.__ Loading, though... what did that mean?

"Are you s-sure you don't want us here for your conversation?" Alphys stuttered, looking at him to me. __Why would he want to have them leave? What's so bad about having them around for this talk?__

Sans nodded, and the three headed towards an escalator in the corner to the second floor. Papyrus gave me one last wave before he ascended, leaving us all alone. Me, a mysterious child who I had no idea how they got down there, and the comic Sans-oh... his name was a pun. The... the font, and... his brother was papyrus... great. Just great. "alright."

I turned to Sans, and tensed as two empty, black sockets suddenly locked onto me. His eye lights had vanished, and I stared into an empty, dark void. __Holy c-why did he get so serious all of a sudden? And... why do I feel like I'm not gonna like where this is going?__ "now, let's get down to business."

* * *

 ** **A little longer than the first chapter, but I'm not really going for length. I'll make one more chapter to this, maybe, but that would be it. I have many other stories I'm focusing on, and this wasn't going to be anything huge. It's a minor thing that I decided to throw out there, and that's it.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	3. Chapter 3

****Disclaimer: This is the last chapter of this random idea. It could have been longer, but... I had zero idea for how to keep this going. It's a short chapter, but I figured this was a good way to wrap up this up.****

 ** **StoriesUnleashed: Minor is right. I'm only putting 3 chapters out there.****

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 ** **xForeverGamerx: Thanks. I'm still learning as I go along, and a lot of what I've written (mostly my larger stories) are being edited constantly for things that can be improved. Whether that's grammar and spelling, sentencing structures, or just random stuff in general.****

 ** **RainbowCelin: And wacky. And weird.****

 ** **That One Cute Kitty: Thanks. Undertale is a fandom I like to write for.****

 ** **SolangeloUniverse: Well, it was a random idea. I didn't expect to let this go on forever.****

 ** **Sixer: I love the movie, and I could see so much potential with that and the game that I just HAD to write something. A tired brain works in mysterious ways.****

 ** **Hourglass Cipher: Wouldn't it be wonderful to make fan art for this? I mean, I wouldn't draw it, but it'd be nice.****

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 ** **13ForLife: Sadly, I'm only posting one more chapter.****

 ** **Luckygurrl12: This is the last chapter. While I'm surprised and delighted people enjoyed this random idea, I'm not going to write any more for it. After all, I have other projects to work on.****

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 ** **I own Jazz, and nothing related to Undertale.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

"so, i'm gonna explain this nice and simple. pay attention, 'cause i'm not repeating this."

I felt my heart thump in my chest as we all sat down around around a table off to the side. Frisk seemed confused, but also shared the same nervousness as I did. Why was Sans being so... intense? What happened to before, where he was all jokes and trying to cheer me up? "Okay..." I said, nodding slowly. __Keep it together, Jazz. Stay... calm.__ "Okay." __Be open. Whatever he has to say, it's going to go against what you're used to.__

"this world, specifically the underground here, revolves around soul power. with that power, monsters thrive and live out their lives. our entire bodies are primarily made out of our essence. however, you humans have a physical form; a body around your soul. this makes yours much more stronger and durable." Sans turned to look at Frisk, who shied away under his gaze. His lights had returned to his sockets moments ago, but that didn't help how strained that grin of his looked. "the kid here's soul trait, of which there's seven of them in existence, is determination."

"Determination?" I repeated. "That's... a little out there, don't you think? Having a personality trait that makes up your entire being?" Sans narrowed his sockets, if that was even possible, and leaned forward. Even with his returned eye lights, the tension and seriousness was still there.

"you're married to a skeleton, sweetheart. what makes you think that you're free to judge?" I snapped my mouth shut at that. It was a mistake, the marriage. A complete accident. But he had a point. I had no right to question how this world worked because it wasn't mine. What I had thought was normal, or impossible, was now up in the air upon arrival in this new world. Seeing that I was done, Sans picked up where he left off. "with determination comes a... a bit of a curse, in my opinion. the most determined person in the underground is able to bend reality, and change the flow of time. resetting everything, without anyone being able to recall what happened."

Frisk sank deeper into the chair and the massive sweater they wore, almost hiding their head inside the large hole. "kid didn't know the gravity of their actions at first. they first acted without thought, being scared and... and murdered people in fear." __Whoa, back up. This sweet child killed people?__ That didn't make sense. H-how could Frisk have killed anyone? "it was something i had to put a stop to. i confronted the child, right at the end, and managed to convince them to stop. we're on timeline five right now. there haven't been any more murders, thank goodness. but still... it's hard to get everything perfect each time."

"Are you guys... aiming for something?" I finally spoke. "Trying to correct something?" Why else would they reset time five times?

Reset. It was... like something one would normally hear in a sci-fi book. Being able to go back, and change mistakes. Or in some cases, with how Sans was describing it, make things even worse than when they first arrived there.

Sans' head lifted up to meet my curious eyes, and nodded. "yeah. we're aiming to break the barrier, and get everyone back to the surface. all frisk here has to do is befriend everyone and make peace with all the monsters." __That doesn't seem... too hard.__ "however." Sans straightened up, resting his arms on the table. "that was before you showed up."

"You... you said you had zero idea how you got to the surface, right?" I closed my eyes in thought. "You and the others... had no idea why you got up there, buried in the ground." Opening them, I frowned at him. "Was this a side effect from these resets?"

"that's what we're thinkin'. only me and frisk know about them, since i'm the only other monster who can recall every event that's happened. either i had a severe botched teleportation happen, or during one of the loads something... glitched."

"Loads. So, if I'm thinking in terms of a video game, that's normally going back to where you last saved. Does this mean instead of a full reset, Frisk also could go back a few minutes?" Frisk nodded, signing something to Sans.

"or a few hours," he elaborated. "usually, it happens when, uh... something bad happens to them."

Death.

He meant death.

It felt... weird. And wrong, that this child had actually died at the hands of the creatures down in this strange new world. True, I had jumped the gun at the start and thought they wanted my blood, but I wouldn't have fought back. I was feisty, yes, but I was somewhat of a pacifist. Frisk seemed... borderline, at times, from what I was hearing. They weren't sure what they were doing at the start, but corrected their path before it was too late.

I wasn't sure if ****all**** monsters meant to kill Frisk. Did some monsters not know what a human looked like? Was it because they were scared? I'd probably might have done something cruel at first, but... this place... it wasn't right. Not completely. __Almost like... there's something here messing with your mind.__

"you still there?" I noticed Sans was watching me with a now concerned look, seeing how his earlier statement got to me. "you look pale."

"I... I'm fine. Just thinking. So then, if what you're saying makes sense, then when they reloaded, that's how... how you were dragged back into the Underground... with me in tow." Glitches. The world really did run like a game.

"yep." He said it so simply. So casually. "and now, here you are, pal. you're stuck down here with the rest of us until we either break the barrier... or reset." His lights vanished, and the empty grin he gave me made my heart drop. "and lettin' you know right now, that last option ain't gonna happen this time 'round. you're stuck here, bud, for better... or for worse."

'' _ _till... death do us part. I-I'm never gonna get out of here... am I? At least... not until Frisk gets their happy ending for all the monsters.__ __And by the sound of what's been going on here... that's gonna be a while.__ Sighing deeply, I tugged at my hair before returning to meet Sans' sockets. __Claire and my parents are going to think I'm dead or kidnapped, but... at least I get out of that stupid play, so... that's a plus?__ "This... this shouldn't be too bad, right?" I tried to shrug off my panic, but it still showed clear on my face. "Just... have to think of this as a learning experience. But right now, I, uh, probably should stop screaming at everything and everyone."

Sans chuckled, and Frisk finally smiled at my calming state. Nerves were still fired up, but I was... better, somewhat. "well then, that's better." Pushing away from the chair, he walked around the table and over to me. "the others won't mind if we head out. after all, i've got to show you around the underground still. frisk can take care of things from here."

Frisk gave us a thumps up, winking. __Man, they're such a sweetie.__ I had zero regrets about the jazz hands bit. Children always seemed to find that funny whenever I first told them my name. "Okay. Where to first?" Getting up, I walked beside Sans towards the door as Frisk watched our backs.

"snowdin. it's where paps and me live, and where you'll be stayin' until we fix this mess." __Snowdin. Snowed... in.__ I slapped a hand to my head with another groan, while Sans' previous chuckles increased, shoulders bouncing in mirth. What was it with this place and puns?

"This place is one big book of puns, honestly. Ugh, I'm gonna die down here surrounded by fish knights, nerdy dinosaurs, and pun making skeletons."

"at least you won't be bonely, right, kid?"

"Aaargh!"

* * *

 ** **And thus, this random idea is now put to rest. Like I said, I never planned on letting this become a huge story.****

 ** **Sorry if this chapter is short though. Like, really short. But I sort of ran out of ideas on how to expand this more. I COULD have made it larger, but I wanted to focus on other stuff now.****

 ** **Thanks for reading!****

 ** **Angel****


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